Community Solar 101

If you read last week’s article and are feeling a bit disheartened let us ease your worries. This combined with Bloomberg’s news that Americans Face 25% Jump in Power Bills, alas there is still hope!

This week we will be talking about Community Solar and how a marginal credit score, living in an apartment, or not qualifying for a solar loan should not hold you back from joining the solar family.

Community Solar is the game changer for our future. The idea behind community solar is that multiple households are pulling from one solar farm/ group of solar panels. The panels can be located on an apartment roof, a community building, or even a lot of land. Since, multiple people are pulling from one cluster of solar panels, it allows for each resident using community solar to take part in the benefits of solar!

The model is still in its early stages, but the concept is clear in the way it empowers residents to make an informed decision about their carbon footprint and save on their electric bill. The main hurdles utilities and installers continue to work through are billing systems, but we see this as a quick learning curve while the country continues to look at ways to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Community solar enables everyone the accessibility to go green and start changing our future. In one of our previous articles we talked about stabilizing the grid. This is another way to continue and make a positive impact. Community Solar allows everyone to change the grid in their own community and helps create a greener and better environment.

Community Solar has been around for awhile but now is starting to come in strong and making a stance in our future. For example, in 2016 PEC helped fund a community solar project in Texas that by this year they expect that 32% to 49% of the distributed market is made up from this program (Texas co-op signs deal for 15 MW of distributed community solar,Tarbish). There are also already community solar opportunities in the Austin area. Austin energy offers community solar for people interested but have difficulties getting them on their own. Another example of community solar is in Omaha, Nebraska. The solar company SunWise is offering a community solar project in the Nebraska Public Power District which allows customers to power their homes and businesses.

Help the grid in your area become greener by joining the movement!

If you’re interested in to learn more about our Community Solar Initiative, please email Nakyshia Fralin for more information.

Next week we will offer homeowners considering solar a checklist and questions to ask your solar consultants, stay tuned and subscribe to NATiVE’s Newsletter.